Changes In the Weather
by MoreThanSimplyWords
Summary: "It's funny, she mused as she stood on the roof, how life can change in an instant." A different perspective on Jess' time in California.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own Gilmore Girls. Also, I borrowed some dialogue from _Here Comes The Son_, but I twisted some parts. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

It's funny, she mused as she stood on the roof, how life can change in an instant. The morning had started the same as most days - she got up, fed the dogs, made breakfast, had some coffee, and then went to work on the roof, which is where it all changed. She guessed it didn't matter if she was on the roof or in the house - whatever happens, happens, and elevation doesn't change that. So, with a fake smile plastered on her face to cover her shock, she made her way to the ground.

This didn't make any sense. But such was the life of Sasha Belington.

She rattled off dog names as if her life depended on it, concluding with "Jimmy's not here right now.", and hoped he wouldn't ask to come inside. She wanted him gone, wanted him out of her yard, out of the state, out of her life. But good manners took a hold of her and, gritting her teeth, she gestured for him to come inside.

"I'm going to try to track him down, so just wander." She rushed into the other room and grabbed the phone. Her slow, deep breaths did nothing to calm her racing heart, her sweaty palms.

"Hello?" Jimmy's casual voice came through, mixed with the typical California sounds. Chatter, clanking metal, wind, a hint of the waves.

"Jimmy, your son is here." A knot gripped her stomach.

"Hold on, Sash, I couldn't hear you. Group of teenagers just came through. You know how they are."

No, she didn't, really. Not from personal experience. Only from observation, and in the long run, what did that matter?

"Well, you're about to get one for yourself. Your son is here."

"Jess? But -" Jimmy paused. "Are you sure?"

"Unless there's another random kid claiming to be Jess Mariano, yeah, I'm pretty sure." The words snapped off her tongue.

"Wow, this is - Wow. Okay."

"I'm bringing him over there. We can talk about this later."

"Sash -"

She pressed end before he could say another word, stuck another smile on her face, and went to find Jess.

* * *

She found him in the library, staring at the open closet door. Lily didn't seem fazed by the interruption. For a moment, she allowed herself to smile, the sight of the startled teen and her pensive daughter being such a change from the normal household days.

"Did you get a hold of Jimmy?"

She blinked once before answering. "Yeah, I'll take you there now. Lil, Coco's gonna stay with you while I'm gone, okay?"

A nod from her book-enthralled daughter was all the response she got.

Jess was standing near one of the shelves, running his fingers over the rows of books.

One more glance around the room.

Jess looked up and met her eyes.

Another fake smile from her.

Steady eye contact from him, as if he was sizing her up, trying to decide if she would throw him out. Distrust lingered faintly in the corners of his eyes, and she couldn't help wondering how much of that was because of Jimmy.

She knew the past few years had been too easy. She should have trusted her instincts. Should have taken notice of the signs – the lowered eyelids, the murmurs, veiled warnings just begging to leap into the open. They had been more prevalent in the first year she had been seen with Jimmy. Now they were barely noticeable; an underlying current she usually managed to ignore. _What have I gotten into now?_

On the way to see Jimmy, she answered Jess' questions casually, giving details, but not offering any information as to how they came about. That, she knew from experience, was how things got messy, twisted until one had no idea which parts were true. Very few people could trust words alone.

Along the way, she stopped to mention things to various people she knew. "Ronnie, you have got to get that hole in your pocket sewed up. Today, drop it by my house. I'll do it for you if you don't have the time." She usually didn't do this. In fact, she found it rather rude. But Jess, with his manner of speaking suggesting he didn't usually hold long conversations, was dredging up an ever-growing lump in the pit of her stomach.

"I didn't know Jimmy had another kid."

"Lily? She's mine, not Jimmy's."

"Oh."

He would want details. People always did, whether they voiced the request or not. It would be easier to just give in now. "I was married for the longest minute and a half in the world before I came to my senses and ran for the hills. I got Lily, though, so I win." A forced chuckle followed, barely squeezing out of her throat. She had been married for the best two and a half years of her life.

"You and Jimmy had quite a talk, huh?"

"Yeah, well."

"Where are you from, Jess?"

"New York."

She was saved from answering by the hot dog stand coming into view. "Hey, Jimmy!"

He turned around, eyes widening as they landed on Jess. "Hey." His eyes flickered to Sasha. "You weren't kidding."

"Couldn't possibly have made this one up, Jimmy."

He turned back to Jess. "You just got here?"

"Just got here."

She barely held back a sigh. "So, Jess, I assume you'll be staying for dinner?"

His eyes went from her to Jimmy. "Oh, well…"

"Yeah, sure, stay. You'll stay. He'll stay. We'll get Abbott's, right?"

"Whatever you want. I have to go." She didn't miss the opening and closing of his mouth before she turned her away. She didn't look back.

* * *

_A/N: Confession. I have an idea of where to go with this, but I this is basically all I have written. I don't know how long it will take me to finish this, or even get the next chapter up, but I really want to make something out of this. Sasha has always intrigued me, just from the few minutes we saw her in the show. The story will (probably) be mostly in her POV, but I might play with the other characters as well. I would love feedback on this - ideas, suggestions, anything! (Including whether it's even worth finishing...)  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, I may have changed my mind about keeping it mostly in Sasha's perspective. I'm experimenting. **

**I don't own Gilmore Girls. I also borrowed a little bit of dialogue from "Here Comes the Son."**

* * *

Lilly headed straight for her book and the closet upon opening the door, and for once, Sasha was glad. All her life, she had heard about the five stages of grief, but she didn't believe them; not entirely. Denial was far beyond her reach, though she almost wished it wasn't. On the other hand, she was furious. Furious at Jimmy for lying to her. Furious of the entire situation that had arisen just as she was starting to build a quiet, safe life for herself and Lilly. And, perhaps, most of all, she was furious at Jess, the boy she hardly knew. Out of all the things that could have gone wrong in her relationship with Jimmy, his long-lost son just had to show up on her doorstep.

She wouldn't let herself think about any actual grief.

Her hand came in contact with a glass on the counter, and she threw it with all her strength. Once she started, she couldn't stop. She was glad she hadn't cleaned the kitchen, she thought, smashing another one against the wall.

* * *

Amid the fog of stories, the sound of glass shattering reached Lilly's ears. She raised her head, listening. Her stomach twisted. Surely thishad something to do with the brooding teenager that had interrupted her book. In the brief seconds she had gazed at him, she noticed he seemed out of place. Not just in the library, though he certainly was. His eyes had looked like the descriptions she so often read about – hard, wandering, angry, and most of all, lonely. Why he was in the house, she had no idea, but based on her mom's reaction, he wasn't supposed to be there.

Still, a drop of hope planted itself in her stomach. She had wanted a brother for as long as she could remember. This wavy-haired stranger might be the next best thing.

More glass, more noise. Lilly bit her lip, pulled the door closed tighter, and let the words resting in her hands take her far, far away again.

* * *

"Sasha?"

She met his eyes steadily, eyebrows slightly raised. Jimmy approached her, hands up.

"Start talking."

He took a deep breath, hesitating before speaking. "I may have lied about where I was last week."

"No kidding."

"Look, I'm sorry." He frowned. "You're nodding your head. Why are you nodding your head?"

"You're always sorry, Jimmy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She scoffed slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What, you wanted me to say 'oh, hey, by the way, I actually have a son that I left the day he was born and I'm going to see him. Sorry I didn't tell you for nearly six years!'" He ran a hand through his hair. "Will you stop shaking your head?"

"I'm picking up the pizza."

"Come on, Sasha, just hear me out."

"You're not done?" She watched him open and close his mouth. "That's what I thought. Get the extra mattress out of the closet."

"What? Why?"

"For Jess."

"Why would Jess need the extra mattress?"

"Because the couch is too small to sleep on."

"He's staying here?"

"You didn't ask him?" She threw her hands up in the air. "Did you ask him anything at all? He could be in trouble, Jimmy."

"He's in trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"I don't know. Go find out yourself." She marched to the door and slammed it shut behind her.

* * *

Jimmy Mariano did not like feeling panicked. It was part of the reason he ran a hot dog stand – low stress, good food. But now he had a teenage son to worry about. _Son_. He didn't know how to handle the new responsibility, especially the possibility of a responsibility on the wrong side of the law. Now that he thought about it, the kid did seem to have kind of a sketchy personality. Oh man. Sasha was going to leave him and take Lilly with her. Jess could end up in jail if they found him.

Jimmy quickened his pace. _He _could end up in jail. He had to find Jess. Now.

He threw open the door of the first bookstore he came across. No sign of the leather jacket and wild hair that reminded him of his own high school days.

After looking in a second bookstore, he tried to compose himself. Maybe the kid got lost. _Or he's hiding from the cops._ Maybe he just has alot of baggage. _Of course he does; he's your son._

The last bookstore within walking distance came into sight. In it, he saw a dark-haired figure bending over a book.

"Hey!" He knew his voice was too loud, but he didn't care. He'd explain to Benjamin later. "When you say you're going to a bookstore, you have to be more specific. I've been walking around for an hour."

"Sorry."

"Outside."

"But –"

"Now." He ignored the questioning looks he felt as he all but pushed Jess out the door. "Are the cops after you?"

"No."

"No, because you didn't do anything or because they haven't found the head yet?"

"If they found anything, it'd be the foot."

"That's not funny."

"Fine."

"You were joking, right?"

Jess raised his eyebrows. "Nice to know I've made a good impression on you."

"Hey, I don't know what to expect. I don't exactly know you."

"Not my fault."

Jimmy looked across the boardwalk. "That's why I came to Stars Hollow. I wanted to talk to you."

"Really." Jess' voice was flat.

"Really. I just chickened out."

"Huh."

He faced Jess again. "Why are you here?"

"Came to see you."

"Okay."

"And I need a place to crash. Just for a little while. I can sleep on the couch."

"Couch is too small. We have an extra mattress."

"That's fine."

He hated to do this to the boy after he had come all this way. "Jess, you can't stay here."

"Why not?"

Was it just him, or was there a hint of desperation to his voice? "Because."

"Why?" The voice was firmer.

"Because you can't."

"Why can't I?"

"Because you just can't!"

"I suppose asking 'why not' again isn't going to get me anywhere."

"Look at me, Jess. I'm not a father. I left you because I wasn't a father. I wasn't the day you were born and I'm not now. I can't raise a

kid."

"Raise me? I'm eighteen! I'm raised! I can vote, I can be drafted. It's a little late to throw me a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday

party. I just need a place to crash."

"Listen to me. It's only been five years since I've started to put my life together. You don't want to be around me. I mess everything –

_everything_ - up. That is my genetic code.""Well, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

That's what he was afraid of. "Don't say that. You're young; you can do anything you want."

"A month. Just let me stay a month."

"Are you listening? I have nothing to offer you. Nothing."

"You have nothing? I have nothing! I have no place to go. I can't stay at Luke's, I can't stay in Stars Hollow. My mother is a wackjob. I mean,

you're saying you're this loser and what, you don't want take me off this terrific path I'm headed down right now? I'm not graduating high

school. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, but something's telling me I better find out soon or I'm gonna be that guy

out there on the boardwalk selling the hemp hats."

Maybe the kid was right. Maybe he had nothing to offer him, but it was better than leaving him to the streets.

"Well?"

The voice brought him out of his trance.

"I'll have to talk it over with Sasha. Judging from the amount of broken glass in the kitchen, I'm not sure it's going to go well."

"I can stay out of the way. She won't even have to see me."

He sighed and closed his eyes briefly, listening simply to the faint crash of the surf. "If Sash says it's okay, then we'll see."

"Alright."

"It might not work out."

"I understand."

"But we'll see."


End file.
